Legal Commentary

Are Associates Worth $600 Per Hour?

By Patrick J. Lamb

$600 (bleeping) per hour?   (Sorry, I'm from Illinois.  It's our water.) 

Blago humor aside, let me draw your attention to this Wall Street Journal Law Blog post.   From the Journal:

Yesterday, Judge Chin, in a polite and judicious order, asked Dewey to provide a bit more information on its fees:

It is difficult to evaluate the reasonableness of the hourly rates for most of the lawyers listed. For example, [five attorneys] — all simply described as “Associate” — have substantial hours billed at hourly rates of, respectively, $605, $605, $550, $605, and $605. Without knowing anything about their backgrounds, it is difficult for the Court to determine whether the requested hourly rates are reasonable.

Perhaps if one of the associates also has a Ph.D. in astro-physics and the case requires that scientific expertise, one of the associates might be worth it.  But the question for all of you-in-house lawyers--do you think associates are worth these rates?  Does this question posed by the Court influence your answer?

Is it reasonable to bill at hourly rates of $700 to $950 to $950 for partners and $425 to $550 to $605 for associates in the context of a securities receivership? Is it reasonable to bill at hourly rates of $285 for summer associates & $175 to $275 for paralegals?

Ever wonder how these rates can add up?  The Journal reports that Dewey is seeking $2.2 million for 20 days worth of work, $100,000 per day.  I'm in awe.

Full post as published by In Search of Perfect Client Service on December 17, 2008 (boomark / email).